Cuba's revolution lives on

January 1 2009 commemorates the 50th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary events of the past century. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 12 others, a group of men known as the Revolutionary Movement July 26, overthrew the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista in Cuba. Nineteen-year-old Panchita tells Andrés Schipani she was quick to join their ranks as an urban guerrilla

I was so young and pretty. I was only 19. And I hated the Batista regime and the military with all my soul, for all the atrocities they had committed in my town. There was so much injustice back then and I felt I had to do something.

It was then that I met my husband, my companion for ages, who was heading the resistance against Batista in Havana. He was a nice, humble man from my town. I joined him in the ranks of the Revolutionary Movement 26 July, that same movement led by Commander Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl, Camilo Cienfuegos and of course, how could I forget, Che Guevara.

I was always carrying a gun in my stockings, ready to defend the revolutionary values of justice and equality that I felt, and I still feel, were right. My nom de guerre was Panchita and, even today, I still like to be called that.

My division was in charge of ambushing members of the police and military, and recruiting more people, basically, to destabilise Batista's brutal regime in Havana. We were clearing a path to the city so that the "bearded ones", the guerrillas who were fighting in the countryside, in the hills and the jungle, could come and start running the revolutionary government.

That day finally arrived. On January 1 1959, after hearing that Batista had left the island, we came out onto the streets. We were cautious; we believed it was only a fabricated rumour to make us come out of hiding and be massacred. But when we arrived at el Capitólio [the national capitol building], we saw people cheering us in the streets. The fervour was incredible.

There were still some military people around who were loyal to Batista, but we managed to overcome them. What a triumph that was. Then we waited for our leaders, first Che and Camilo, and then later Fidel, to enter Havana.

After that I went to help Che at the garrison in San Julian. Those were harsh times – there was still resistance against the revolution. But they were also good times. We were good friends and working hard for the values we believed in.

Medicine has been one of the bastions of the revolution – that and free healthcare. We have sent Cuban doctors on international missions all over the world. My daughter is a doctor. She has worked in Angola, Nicaragua and Mexico. She wanted to study medicine since she was very little, so I feel I can say that she was a revolutionary from the start.

I remember Che, who was a trained doctor, playing with my daughter in the garrison. He said: "She will be a doctor just like me." And I told him: "You are not a doctor. You are a guerrilla fighter." What a good and honourable man Che was. We were all committed to the revolution, but he was the ultimate revolutionary.

I later went to work in migration services. Back then, anyone who wanted to leave Cuba was more than welcome to. It was then that I announced that my time as a guerrilla was over. I explained that I was still a revolutionary, but it was time for me to do what Batista and his regime had not allowed me to do, and what I couldn't do while I was fighting, which was to study for a degree. I had always wanted to study veterinary medicine and, thanks to the revolution, I did so.

Today, 50 years after our triumph, many people still believe in the revolution. They miss Che and they are thankful that Fidel has kept the revolution alive for so long.

Two years ago, when Raúl [Castro] stepped in for his brother Fidel, people were not happy. They didn't like or trust him. But now things are going well, and the revolution advances. Raúl is a good man. I shared a lot with him – happy times with him and his family.

My sight is failing a bit and I have diabetes, but even if I can no longer read, I can see that the revolution is still alive and kicking.